A Purpose in Life
by EchanHeartSaitoHajime
Summary: Yukimura Anju is the daughter of Yukimura Kodo. After encountering a certain blonde, ruby-eyed stalker, she heads out to Kyoto to find her father. Who knew that she would actually find her purpose in life there? And that purpose has a name of Saito Hajime. Can she become his purpose in life too? Saito x OC R
1. A New Purpose is Found

Chapter One: A New Purpose is Found

I could've never imagined what was outside of the house in Edo that I had lived in.

I didn't really have much of a purpose in life, or so I thought at the time. I thought that I'd be destined to get married to someone that Otousama chose for me, and just live the rest of my life as their wife.

Otousama is a great doctor that specializes in western medicine, which makes him quite valuable to the Shogun. Because of his work, he's often out of Edo, working in Kyoto.

I stared up at the blue sky, sighing, and then went back to sweeping the porch. It got kind of lonely around the house without anyone to talk to…

Suddenly, I felt an ominous breeze send shivers down my spine. What was this feeling?

"Here you are, my wife." A deep voice said.

I quickly turned around, and came face to face with a man, a bit older than me. His hair was blonde, and his ruby eyes pierced my brown ones. Did he just call me his wife?! "Who are you?!"

He took one step closer. "So, he hasn't told you…very well, I shall come at a later date to collect you, my dear wife."

He was gone before I could inquire who he was, or what he was talking about. I looked around, and swallowed a lump in my throat. I couldn't possibly stay here, knowing that he could come back! I was quite frightened at the thought of him showing up again like this.

So, I left for Kyoto, in hopes of finding Otousama and hopefully losing that stalker.

I had made good time, and arrived at Kyoto before the sun set, but there was no one that could tell me where Otousama worked…

It was going to get dark kind of soon…What was I going to do?

I was walking around aimlessly, preoccupied with my own thoughts, not really being alert, which was a big mistake on my part, since I accidentally bumped into a ronin…

"Watch where you're going!" He reeked of alcohol, most likely sake…

"Sumimasen! (Sorry/excuse me)" I bowed my head a little and tried to continue on my way.

"Oi, oi, you think you're going to get away with just that?!" The ronin grabbed my hair, pulling me back.

I knew my disguise was most likely a failure, since my curves still showed through, not matter how loose I made the hakama. "St-stop!" My hand rested on the hilt of my kodachi.

"You're a wench! I might as well get a good use out of you then." He sniggered and began dragging me by my hair.

I needed to wait for a good moment to hit him with the back of my kodachi to get away.

I didn't get my chance to, since the ronin stopped walking abruptly.

"Get out of my way!" He slurred.

"Let go of that child first." The voice I heard was calm, and cool, which reminded me of a blade.

"Who's gunna make me!?" He brought me forward to face whoever was in front of him.

I opened my eyes and looked up to see a man wearing a light blue Haori and a black kimono. His blue eyes were glaring in an emotionless way at the ronin. His blue hair was messily tied in a ponytail and hung on the front of his left shoulder.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." His movements were so fast; I wasn't sure what had happened. The ronin was already on the ground, and my hair was freed from his clutch.

"A-arigato gozaimasu (thank you very much)!" I bowed.

He gave me a nod to acknowledge my thanks.

Light blue haori…Is he part of the Shinsengumi? I had only really heard rumors, and not all of them were good, about the men in blue haori.

Perhaps he could help me? Before he turned around, I spoke up. "Do you know where I could find Yukimura Kodo?"

"Yukimura Kodo?" He seemed slightly surprised. "…Who are you?"

"I-I'm Yukimura…" I hesitated. Should I play the part as a boy?

He grabbed my wrist before I could say another word. "You need to come with me."

Now what was I getting myself into?!


	2. The Shinsengumi!

_**AN: I didn't think there would be interest in this story, but I got several faves and follows~! ^^ Thank you minna-san! Maybe some of you can review? That'd be great if you could! What do you think of Anju-chan? I got big plans for her ;3 by the way, this story is going to follow some of the game/anime plots, and of course a mix of my crazy(?) mind~**_

Chapter Two: The Shinesengumi

Escaping was most definitely out of the question, I thought, as I looked around the room, many pairs of eyes on me. I was in a room full of talented swordsmen, so escaping this place was definitely impossible if I want to keep my life.

"So, what us your relation to Yukimura Kodo?" Kondou asked, rubbing his chin. He had kindly introduced all of them to me before they started to question me.

"Don't make up an alias, we already know you're a woman." Hijikata said curtly, putting his hands in his sleeves.

"WHAT?!" Nagakura rose to his feet and pointed at me. "You're a girl?!"

Harada chuckled and patted the ground. "Maa, maa, Shinpachi. You couldn't tell with her curves? She's definitely not flat like men." He chuckled again as he looked at me.

"Oi, you perverted old man! Where are your eyes looking then!?" Toudou blushed and made an attempt to kick Harada.

Kondou cleared his throat, signaling for attention. "Quiet down, all of you."

I shook away the blush. "I am Yukimura Anju, Yukimura Kodo's daughter."

The room's atmosphere changed when I mentioned this. Had Otousama done something to them, or did they intend to hurt him?

"I see. Then why did you come to Kyoto for?" Kondou looked at me.

I began to fidget slightly, unsure of what to tell them. After all, I couldn't be so trusting towards them without knowing their intentions first. "I came to look for him because he stopped writing letters to me about a month ago."

It was silent for a few moments.

"A-Ano!" Before I could speak up about the man that was following me, Sanan interrupted me.

"Do not fear. We don't bear ill will towards your father. The hospital he was working in burned down about a month ago." He pushed his glasses up his nose.

I gasped and my eyes widened. "Then-?!"

Hijikata shook his head. "We think he's still alive somewhere. There was no sign of his body when we investigated."

I relaxed a little.

"But, whatever are we to do with you?" Sanan chuckled dryly.

I tensed up again.

"I say we kill her. What if she sees something she's not supposed to?"

"Now, now Souji. There's no need to be so rash." Kondou turned towards Okita, the man with brown hair and cat-like green eyes. His smile seemed that of a cat eyeing unsuspecting prey.

"I was kidding." He shrugged.

"Then make it sound like you were." The man that had brought me here, Saito Hajime had his eyes closed.

"Well, for now, Gen-san will lead you to one of the rooms." Hijikata stood up as I scrambled to my feet. "Don't make any rash moves, you got that?"

I nodded. "Hai!" Then I quickly followed Inoue-san.

-

I sighed and paced around, sat down and looked out the window. The room was fairly small, but pretty cozy. The sun had already set, and I could hear the crickets chirping and the sounds of men eating dinner. I put a hand over my growling stomach. "It'd be nice if they brought me something to eat..." I sighed again, standing up near the window.

"Blood!"

I fell backwards as a long, pale arm reached out for me. It had managed to grab the tie that had been keeping my hair in place, making it come loose. "Blood!" The voice cackled again, and I could see it, whatever it was trying to enter through the window. I could see gleaming red eyes in the dark.

I was paralyzed with fear, unable to do much besides scramble away with what little mobility my body had in this state.

Eventually the creature managed to dive through the window, still cackling eerily and chanting the word, "blood," over and over again. This creature bore resemblance to a man with pure white hair and terrifying red eyes.

My throat ran dry, as I tried to gather my voice for a scream. My shriek managed to get through before it put its hands on my throat, and tightened them.

I kicked my feet, struggling to break its hold on me, gasping.

The next moment, all I heard was the sound of a blade passing through flesh and bones. I could feel the blood pouring onto me, and the body landed next to me with a sickening thud.

I began to cough, and tried not to vomit at this sight, trying to get my breathing under control. I couldn't stop my gasps even after I had regained air in my lungs. I could feel myself trembling as I tried to move.

"Are you hurt?" Saito's cool and calm voice finally got through me.

I looked up at him, and launched myself into his arms, still trembling. I held on tightly to him, sobbing because I was still scared. I thought I was going to die...

"Oi..." I felt him tense his body for a moment.

Clearly, I wasn't going to let go any time soon. I refused to. That thing still looked like it was going to get up and attack me! I noticed my ear was pressed right against his chest, so I could hear his heartbeat. It was such a soothing sound, I closed my eyes and just focused on it, to chase away the experience from earlier.

Before I knew it, I was already dozing off, hearing the rapid footsteps of the others.

-

I shuddered as I came to. Had that really happened? I looked down at my clothes that were bloodstained, only to confirm my horror that incident had really happened last night.

The sun was up pretty high in the sky, so I assumed that it was probably past morning.

"Ah, good, you're awake!" Toudou slid the doors apart, only then did I notice that I was in a different room. "By the way, this is Hajime-kun's room."

I nodded, rubbing at my throat as he handed me a cup of water. "Thank you." I said hoarsely, before taking a drink. The cold water soothed my dry throat.

He sat down, staring at me with an expressionless face. "When you're done, we have to go talk to everyone."

I nodded again, swallowing a lump in my throat. No doubt it was about what happened last night.

-

Again, I sat in the same room as yesterday, with every pair of eyes on me.

"What did you see last night?" Hijikata asked, arms crossed and a stern look on his face.

I described the monster and how I got attacked. I made sure to emphasize that I had never left the room.

"Well, I suppose this matches with what Saito said." Hijikata looked at said man.

"You didn't mention the way she was _clinging_ onto Hajime-kun." Okita chuckled.

"What?!" I could feel my face turn red as I looked at Saito. I did, didn't I?! I remember now! After he had killed it, I latched onto him and then passed out...

Saito cleared his throat, and it could just be my eyes, but I swear I saw his cheeks dusted with light pink for a brief moment. "That is of no importance. Hijikata-san, what are we to do with her?"

My attention was back on the commander. It seemed like everyone wanted him to make a decision, rather than Kondou, the chief.

"Here's the deal: if you forget last night's incident, don't run away or cause any inconveniences, we'll take you under our protection until you find Kodo."

"Hijikata-kun, why are you proposing this to her?" Kondou asked, quite puzzled, but then so were the rest of us.

"If Kodo disguises himself, I'm sure his own daughter can tell it's him right away, don't you think so? She'll probably help us search faster than if we were to do it on our own, right?"

There were a few murmurs of agreement. "Jyaa, then who's going to keep an eye on her?" Toudou asked. "We can't just leave her alone, can we?"

"Then how about this: she seemed quite _attached_ to Hajime-kun, so why don't we put her under his care?" Okita smirked at me with that predatory grin.

"Souji..." I heard Saito's quiet protest.

"Sounds splendid." Sanan smiled. "It would help Saito-kun if he had a page following him around."

"Yosh. Then it's settled. We leave her in your care, Saito." Hijikata stood up, and again, wasn't sure if I really saw a smirk directed towards Saito.

"Oh, her room still isn't repaired, so you'll have to remain in the one you were before." Kondou chuckled as he stood up.

"Maa, it's Saito, I don't think you'll have to worry about him pulling a move on you, Anju-chan." Nagakura grinned and patted me on the shoulder as he followed the others out.

"He's right. Saito's so strict with everything, you'll have nothing to worry about." Harada smiled gently at me and patted my head.

Nothing to worry about?! Nothing at all?! Nothing except the awkwardness that's going to happen after last night's incident! It's noting that my heart just keeps thudding in my chest like drums!

"I still don't think it's right for you two to share a room..." Toudou mumbled as he ran after the others, leaving Saito and me in awkward silence.

"A-ano..."I turned to face him and bowed. "Thank you for saving me again!"

"I didn't do it for you, I did it because of my job." He stood up and waited at the door. I assumed I was supposed to follow him then...

My heart began racing again, at the thought of spending time with this handsome man...unlike what the rumors said about the Shinsengumi, all off the captains were handsome, almost like actors! I was quite surprised when I first arrived here yesterday.

Although, I did have to admit, Saito caught my eye more than the rest for some odd reason. "Is it the hair?" I wondered, staring at his low ponytail on his shoulder.

"What?" I realized we had stopped walking, and he was staring at me. "What are you talking about?"

I blinked. "What?"

"You said something about my hair." He said, expressionless.

"I-I did?" I must've thought aloud...Great! Way to make him think even less of you, Yukimura Anju!

Wait...I'm not hoping for anything to happen, am I? How could I?! I just met him yesterday! I have to focus on finding Otousama quickly and going back home to Edo!

"...Is there something wrong about the way I wear my hair?" I saw Saito comb his fingers through his ponytail.

Does it really concern him that much? I stifled my giggles. "No, it's just...it looks really taken care of...that's all..." I almost burst into laughter. That was too adorable...

There I go again! No. I cannot have feelings for him so quickly! He's part of the Shinsengumi, aka, D-A-N-G-E-R. They're hated by most of the general public!

"I see..." The indigo-haired warrior cleared his throat and began walking again, with me at his heels.

Maybe it wouldn't be all that bad. Job or not, he _did _save me twice. I doubt it was all part of his job. Maybe...


End file.
